


A Hundred Silent Ways

by ASpen823



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Slow Burn, Trauma, i'm bad at tags sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:28:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23181739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASpen823/pseuds/ASpen823
Summary: After their release, the monsters of Ebott struggle to adapt to a life on the surface after the famine. The skeleton brothers in particular have a hard time moving past the darkness and pain they inflicted and had inflicted on them Underground, fighting to find a place for themselves in this new world. But the right place is always the last place you look, and sometimes healing yourself means helping to heal others.
Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 16
Kudos: 75





	1. An Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, I'm not dead, just super busy and had Depression! Now my job is closed and I'm stuck at home for two weeks, so here! Have a story I started working on! I will get back to TOWSF, I swear, I'm just struggling with a bit of a block. Just trying to start writing again, and I love my spooky bois. Have some fluff and angst. I will still post any trigger warnings at the start of chapters as needed.
> 
> Enjoy and please leave kudos or reviews! I would love to hear from you!

Chapter One: An Introduction

“Guys….”

Papyrus tried not to slump further into his seat at the deeply disappointed voice. Cody was a very nice human, and the huge skeleton hated hearing that tone. It meant he, or his brother, had made things difficult for him again. Sans, ungrateful lump that he was, had his fingers jammed in his eye socket, tugging and scraping against the bone. It was setting Papyrus’s teeth absolutely on edge, which was less than great considering how painful it was for Papyrus to touch his teeth together at all.

Cody was pinching his nose bridge, looking absolutely done with everyone. Tired brown eyes stared at the two, dismay and frustration clearly written on his face. Aside from his clear exhaustion, Cody was conventionally handsome by human standards, as far as Papyrus could tell. Tall (for a human), broad shouldered, and normally sporting a warm and winning smile, paired with kind eyes and wavy brown hair. Papyrus clearly remembered first meeting the human and enthusiastically asking him if he was a television star, to which Cody had laughed and introduced himself as their case worker.

There was no laughter now.

“Okay, well, in the sake of honesty, I am officially out of options for you two. You have been removed from or have requested to leave every available housing facility we have left. I have NO idea what to do next. Any suggestions?”

Papyrus wrung his hands, still encased in his favorite worn gloves. The rest of his outfit was much improved! But he couldn’t let go of his gloves or scarf. Ever the problem solver, he spoke.

“W-WELL, WHAT ABOUT TORIEL?”

“She’s already under strict observation for her mental health, and has her hands full with ongoing peace talks.”

“U-UM, PERHAPS, UH, GRILLBY?”

“Already providing shelter for his child, and several others, as well as running a restaurant. Quite successfully, too, actually.”

Papyrus could feel his eyes expanding, alarmed and overthinking, trailing off 

“W-WELL, WE COULD ALWAYS JUST Go Back And Live In the woods….”

Leaning forward onto his elbows, face in his hands, Cody just groaned. Papyrus felt immense guilt over once again being a source of a Migraine for this helpful human, whatever a Migraine was. He understood it to be painful, and he did not wish for Cody to be in pain.

Sans finally removed his fingers from his socket, shifting in the large seats made just for monster clients.

“paps’ right. we don’t b’long here. jus’ ship us back to the mountain. we can fend for ourselves.”

Well, that was more than Sans usually spoke! He must also be feeling bad about how things had turned out. Papyrus gently reached out, patting his brother’s arm in support. Cody sat up, directing a pointed frown towards the former butcher of Snowdin, completely unfazed by the bulging red eye light staring him down.

“You know we can’t do that, Sans. The integration is vital, and aside from a few snags, has been going well. I know this is hard, I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult these changes have been, but we can’t give up yet. You’re both already doing much better than six months ago.”

Papyrus would have to agree with that sentiment. His teeth, as much as they hurt, were on the mend thanks to the influx of magic and some good braces. The glasses helped his eyesight, and he could feel himself reabsorbing magic and getting stronger. There was always enough food, and the nightmares had been growing less frequent. There was still a long, long way to go, but still…

Shifting gears, he opted for optimism! Clapping his brother on the shoulder, giving the elder skeleton his brightest smile, Papyrus dedicated himself to encouraging Sans.

“HUMAN CODY IS CORRECT, BROTHER! WE MAY HAVE TRIPPED UP A BIT HERE, BUT THIS IS NOTHING WE CAN’T OVERCOME! WHY, I JUST KNOW THE BEST IS YET TO HAPPEN! WE JUST NEED TO KEEP GOING.”

Provided his brother stopped threatening to murder the people they lived with, but that could be addressed another time. Now was time for support! Not scolding! Sans seemed to fold into himself at the pep talk, a brief flash of guilt crossing his face, before he fully calmed down.

“you’re right, paps, same as always.”

“NYEHEHE! OF COURSE I AM!”

Cody smiled at the interaction between the two of them. They really weren’t bad guys, just desperate people in an impossible situation. Letting the two banter, he looked back to the scattered papers on his desk. When he became a social worker, working with monsters from legend had not been what he expected, but he couldn’t complain.

Being a part of this team meant a pay raise for the deep difficulties involved, which he very much needed with his second child on the way, a two year old, and a wife. Sans was just so… was touchy the right word? He could get set off and calmed down quickly, completely unstable. Papyrus, for all his attempts to reign in the elder brother, had his own vast set of issues, from dependency to hoarding and theft. Not surprising given the circumstances, but, well, it certainly didn’t make things any easier.

His thoughts were interrupted as Papyrus declared

“THINGS MAY BE DIFFICULT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE WILL RECOVER AND BE ABLE TO ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD ONCE MORE!”

The words were dramatic, but not nearly so much as his proud pose, one hand on his chest, pointing out the window at the brilliant sunset. Chuckling, Cody paused in his panicked thinking. He had heard something similar once before…

_ “I’ll be okay, Cody. It, it hurts. But I’ll heal, someday. I promised I would enjoy the world again. And so I will. Not today, maybe not next year, but eventually. Eventually I will.” _

That’s it! A bit unconventional, but maybe, if he could just get the okay, there could be a new chance for all three of them…

  
  


Sans couldn’t help freezing and tensing as Cody surged up from his desk, bustling out of the room with a few choice phrases like “I had an idea!” and “I have to make a few phone calls, sit tight!” It wasn’t his fault he was always prepared to kill. It had been necessary for so long...

And as if there was anywhere else FOR them to go. He supposed he would rather sit in the human’s office than out on the streets, but he listlessly picked at the fraying threads coming out from his old hoody, nodding along to Papyrus’ supportive words, disbelieving.

There was no place for them. Or, at least, for HIM. And Paps was unwilling to leave his side, piling on the guilt. Of course he was dragging his bro down with him again. What else was new? Whatever plan had popped into Cody’s head was going to go up in smoke, again. This last time had actually even BEEN an accident, instead of his temper snapping. He’d been startled from sleep, afraid of an attack, and threw his axe (something he still slept with, just in case).

Apparently, the human coming to wake him had managed to dodge, but only just, which sent the man sobbing out of the room and calling to have him (and thus his brother) removed from the premises. If it had been worse, if he had actually hurt or killed the guy…. Well, they both knew what happened to “problematic” monsters.

Some part of him still yearned for the old days Underground, before the famine. Things had been so simple then. Everything was a mess up here, always noise, and action, and lights, setting off his now well honed combat instincts. He could never rest properly. It was all, just… too much. Even now, the harsh glare of the lights was making his skull throb, setting off a desire to just…

Cody, the ever “helpful” bundle of human energy surged back into the room, beaming, waving some papers about.

“I think I have something! This might really be it this time!”

Paps was beaming, eyes shining in hope and wonder, while Sans just slouched more. Here it goes again… how long until they’re kicked out again? What was it this time, some old lady desperate for company? What kind of last ditch place was this?

Cody had bustled behind his desk, grabbing his bag and stuffing the papers in before tugging his jacket on.

“I’m telling you guys, this is going to be a great setup! It’s got everything you need, and it’s on the city limits, near a nature preserve, so I know you both will feel a lot more comfortable there! Come on, let’s go! The sooner, the better! I’ll tell you more on the way!”

Slowly, Sans stood as Papyrus practically danced by the door, singing Cody’s praises for his amazing efforts at securing them a place on such short notice. He didn’t pay any attention to the details as they and their few bags of possessions were loaded into the transport van (necessary due to size issues regarding monsters).

Watching the lights pass by in the growing dark, he stared at nothing, thinking of everything and nothing all at once. Minute by minute, the lights grew fewer and farther between, until about half an hour later they were pulling up onto a long empty street, paved recently it looked like.

Cody cleared his throat, which actually caught Sans’ attention. The look on the case worker’s face was more serious than it had ever been, the look out of place and almost dangerous looking on the normally cheerful man. It brought his hackles up and he desperately wished that his axe hadn’t been confiscated after that last fiasco. His magic was still pretty unstable and weak, even after six months.

“Okay, in full transparency, this situation wouldn’t even be possible if you two weren’t having such issues. This is tied a bit too closely to me for proper professionalism.”

Taking a deep breath, the human continued as he drove.

“The place I’m taking you to? Belongs to my baby sister. I called her last minute to see if she might help, and she VERY. GRACIOUSLY. agreed. My boss isn’t convinced, but we really want things to work, so we’re taking this last effort, even without the proper vetting process. Ted is calling the proper people and getting everything sorted in my place. We’re really sticking out necks out for you two.”

This was… unexpected. Cody KNEW the many issues they’d had. The attacks, the thefts, the problems. Why would he EVER let the two of them near his family, his sister. One of them? Did he have two? It was hard to remember…

Cody continued, voice dropping into what could easily be considered a threat, an unfamiliar frown creasing his face.

“In all honesty, I’m saying this not as your case worker, but as a big brother. I could be fired for saying this at all, but I feel like I have to, so I’m sorry in advance.”

Turning into a specific driveway towards the end of the road, twisting into the towering trees. Cody’s voice was soft, but it carried as his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“If either of you hurts my sister, I will do EVERYTHING in power to make sure you have absolute HELL to pay. She’s been through enough as it is...so DON’T mess this up.”

Even though the last part was more muttered to himself, Sans felt himself nodding. Yes, he knew these kinds of thoughts and words well, the desire to protect an already damaged sibling, knowing you can’t keep them from putting themselves at risk again. Papyrus flapped his arms, protesting that they would NEVER, on and on, but Cody stared into the rear view mirror, a hardness in his brown eyes as he locked stares with Sans.

The elder skeleton held the look, before closing his eyes and turning away, a silent acceptance. This was reasonable, he understood this, and would do his best to comply. He didn’t want to be responsible for hurting another family, stealing a sibling away. Despite his complaints, he did genuinely think Cody tried his best for them, and didn’t want to actively hurt him or those close to him. And this interaction honestly brought his estimation of Cody up a few notches. Thought he was too much of a soft touch, but apparently this younger sibling was enough to bring out some bite.

For Cody, for his brother, he could play nice. HAD to play nice. Until she kicked them out, of course.

  
  


Papyrus’ soul felt heavy at the realization of just how important this last placement was going to be. Cody, good as he was, was entrusting him and his brother to NOT hurt his sister. His baby sister even! The youngest of four, if he remembered correctly!

Nervously wringing his hands again, Papyrus tried to calm himself. He, he could make this work. He just, just needed to try and keep all the thoughts under control. He could do that! He had to. It’s not that Papyrus meant to steal and hoard, but there was just so much on the surface, surely no one would miss a few things here or there? He was just trying to be prepared!

Startled from his spiraling, panicked thoughts as the car stopped, Papyrus eagerly fumbled out of his seat and into the fresh night air. It was crisp, getting late into the fall, and he sucked in a deep breath of familiar forest air. There were so many trees surrounding the road! Looking back and up, he felt his soul soar.

The house was BEAUTIFUL! He was sure it was even better during the day! A large upside down V shape made up the main part of the house, towering into the trees. There were wooden steps leading up to a large wrap around porch, warm yellow light pouring through the windows and from lanterns on either side of the front door. A garage was off to one side, connected somehow. He couldn’t wait to find out! A stone chimney stood attached on the other side, gray smoke curling into the dark sky. He hadn’t seen anything so cozy looking, so much like home, in so long.

Cody was already walking towards the door, hauling two bags with ease. Really, he was much stronger than Papyrus had thought! Eagerly grabbing all the rest of the bags, the younger skeleton hurried after, his long strides quickly catching up to the shorter human (not much shorter, really. Papyrus was only 7 feet tall, and Cody at least came up a bit below his nasal cavity, a solid few inches taller than his brother!)

Sans slumped up the stairs after them, clearly unenthusiastic, but seeming in better spirits at the darkness and quiet. All the other homes they had been in had been in the heart of the city or bustling suburbs, and if it had felt like a lot for Papyrus, he couldn’t imagine how it must have been for his poor brother, already more prone to liking solitude.

Cody knocked on the heavy dark wood door and was waiting patiently, taking a deep breath. Papyrus wondered what kind of favors the case worker had called in to get this sorted so quickly…

The door creaked open and Papyrus couldn’t stop the twinkling hope in his eyes as he stared at this bastion of coziness.

A warm, low voice greeted them, the smallest of smiles gracing soft cheeks.

“Hello. I’m Irene. My brother’s told me a bit about what’s going on. Please, come in.”

  
  


This was not what you had bargained on tonight. Work had been work, coming home a relief as always (even if you liked your job. You just had a harder time with it now). Sweet Thalia had been waiting at the garage door, butt wiggling and barking in delight, pushing against you as you smiled your first genuine smile of the day, scratching the rottie’s ears. You had just changed into your comfiest leggings and sweater when you got the call.

Cody NEVER asked you for help, especially not in the last two years. Not that you could blame him. You had been a wreck. But you were doing so much better! Really. Being a creature of habit and promises was helping you to keep moving. That was something, right?

When he called, sounding so lost and so hopeful all at once, you couldn’t say no. Not to him. He had done EVERYTHING for you, sacrificed a lot, was always there for you. It was nice to be able to repay him, just a little bit.

Sure, maybe you hated company and didn’t want strangers here. You loathed the thought of people invading and taking over HIS space. But between your discomfort and disappointing Cody, you knew what choice you would make. Besides, monsters seemed all right. Some had come to visit your work, and there were talks from the higher ups about how to limit barriers to access for them. This could be a good opportunity to recon for work, get some suggestions from the source.

Thankfully, Cody was nothing if not prompt, and you had recognized his knock at the door just as you pulled dinner out of the oven. You tended to keep a stockpile of easily heated frozen meals and were able to throw something together to feed everyone. Given their sizes, as you had seen on TV and news articles, you imagined monsters ate a LOT. And that was besides the whole famine thing they had survived.

So, reheated stew it was. You even scrounged up some rolls to go with, though no salad. Whatever. It was food, and reasonably healthy food even! A step up from your usual fare. When had Alexia brought this over? She was so nice, bringing you things she made at home for you to freeze and reheat whenever. It’s not like you bothered to make proper food otherwise.

Chips were just so much easier.

Setting the table, you contemplated the seats. Would they be big enough? These two were skeletons, right? They couldn’t be THAT heavy.

It would be fine.

Opening the door, you put on your best “I’m so done with customers, but still have to be nice” customer service smile, made easier by the sight of your big brother. Cody was always a delight.

Looking up, you blinked. And kept looking up. Ah, THERE was a face! Taller than Cody, THAT wasn’t easy! He was at least 6’6”, and this skeleton was taller!

Introducing yourself, you stepped aside, waving them in. Wasn’t there one more?

Oh. OH.

That’s when the other skeleton shuffled in. He was broad and stocky, shorter than Cody, but he looked like he could fight a tank and win. That roving red light in a skeletal socket made you shiver instinctively at the inhuman nature of it. The complete lack of light in the taller skeleton’s eyes was honestly preferable to that marble of malice.

He ducked his head though, face now covered by the hood of his jacket.

Sighing, you shooed everyone to the dining table as Cody and the tall skeleton set down some bags by the door, Thalia snuffling at them eagerly, partially burrowing her way into the bag pile. That dog was the greatest. Smile drooping then forcibly put back into place, you hoped this wouldn’t take long. Best to get this over with and go to bed.

“Dig in, everyone. I’m sure there’s enough.”

Scooting a container of stew closer to the friendlier looking of your two new guests, your heart almost melted at the bright, bracey smile he gave. He? Pretty sure Cody had said he. You were NOT prepared for his volume, however charming his smile was.

“THANK YOU, HUMAN IRENE! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS LOVELY LOOKING MEAL! TRULY, YOU MUST BE A MASTER CHEF! PERHAPS YOU CAN EVEN RIVAL MY GREATNESS IN COOKERY!”

Smiling awkwardly, you passed the rolls to the scarier looking one, who took a handful of the precious carb spheres and handed off the much depleted bowl to your brother.

“Can’t take credit for this, I’m afraid. My sister brought it over for me, I just reheated it. Was all I had that was probably enough to feed all of us. Sorry to disappoint.”

Cody perked up, already halfway through his stew.

“Oh? Who dropped by? Nah, let me guess. Alexia? She’s the best cook in the family.”

“Got it in one! She was going on about how she had “made too much” AGAIN. She really doesn’t need the pretense. I definitely appreciate it.”

Laughing, Cody returned to his food.

“Yeah, sounds like her! Always hedging around things. You know, she called the other day “about Christmas plans”, when all she really wanted was to ask if I knew where I had stored some ornaments after last year. What a roundabout way of asking!”

You smiled, picking around the bits in the stew. It was just. So hard to want to eat. Good thing you took so little, wasting it would be a shame. Alexia was a master of all things culinary, especially making food in bulk. A necessary skill given that she had five kids.

The red eyed skeleton still hadn’t spoken, but was going to town on the food, so, win? You could hear Thalia whining from under the table, Cody clearly feeding her bits from his stew every now and then. The monsters didn’t seem to care she was there, which was nice. Clearing your throat, you pushed away your food, sipping on some water. Time to get this whole thing moving.

“So! We haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Irene, like I said. And the whiny lump under the table is Thalia. She’s harmless, I promise, and loves people. So don’t worry about her. And, you are?”

The tall skeleton perked up immediately, puffing out his chest, and granting you what he clearly considered his best smile. He was funny, this one. You appreciated that.

“I AM PAPYRUS, HUMAN IRENE! I AM SO GLAD TO MEET YOU! THANK YOU FOR WELCOMING US INTO YOUR LOVELY HOME! IT’S A WONDERFUL PLACE!”

Your breath hitched for a moment. No, no, don’t think about it, not right now, push it down. Cody can’t know, you can’t make them worry. Smile tightening only just the barest amount, you nodded politely.

“It’s great to meet you too, Papyrus. I hope you’ll be comfortable here.”

Turning, you faced the other skeleton, who had slid down in his seat (ridiculous, given how big he was in comparison to it!), staring blankly at the table. You continued to wait, and watch, feeling awkwardness settle on the gathering. Finally, Papyrus sighed, his smile slipping just a bit.

“THIS IS MY OLDER BROTHER, SANS. PLEASE FORGIVE HIM, HIS PEOPLE SKILLS ARE TERRIBLE. I’M WORKING WITH HIM ON IT, I PROMISE!”

Feeling terribly uncomfortable, you picked at the skin around your fingernails, unnerved by the alarmingly blank stare this Sans continued to have.

“That… that’s great! Everyone always has things to improve on…”

Cody popped up from the table, gathering up plates quickly, his patent Charming Smile™ firmly in place, trying to ease the moment.

“Well! Now that introductions are out of the way, why don’t you give them a tour of the place, Rini? I’ll take care of this, and once you’re done showing them around, we can get them settled and I’ll go over some details with you!”

Ugh. Could, could you not? Do that? The house wasn’t that big. As long as they didn’t disturb your room or the shed outside, you didn’t care where they went. Not like this was a complicated house layout either. But, looking up at the already standing Papyrus, almost vibrating in excitement, you caved. You HAD promised to take care of them, afterall. That meant doing your best to be hospitable. Which meant a house tour.

“Sure! Come on, it won’t take long at all. I do recommend checking out the views outside during the day though, it’s worth the look.”

As expected, it only took about ten minutes. The main floor of your A Frame house was pretty open, with a living room and fireplace flanked by built in shelves containing books, games, and a TV set up. The dining room, kitchen, breakfast bar, and exit to the back part of the porch that overlooked a small clearing and pond were also walked through quickly. The only closed off portions of the main floor were your master suite (off limits), your office (off limits unless permission granted) and a half bath.

Up the staircase, the back half of the house was about as open with two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a few closets, and a lounge area with lots of windows and another TV set up. Skylights were spaced evenly all through the roof, letting in plenty of light. You knew why, of all your siblings, Cody had asked to allow the monsters to stay here. You had ridiculously high ceilings and reasonably wide and tall doorways. Sans had pretty much no issue moving around, and Papyrus only had to duck his head a bit at the doorways.

Coming back downstairs, you pointed out the door off the kitchen leading to the laundry/mud room, that connected to the garage. You vaguely mentioned the shed out back, requesting they leave it alone, to which Papyrus bobbed his head, swearing up and down they would respect your space. The entire time, the tall goofball had been giving you effusive praise for the house, which made you smile a bit more genuinely. It really was a great place. You should know. It had been built just for…

You turned with an overly cheery grin, clapping your hands.

“Well! Now that the tour is done, please feel free to help yourselves to whatever you like. If there’s something you want or need, just let me know. I know this is all very sudden, but I hope we can get along! I’m here to make this as good of a living arrangement as possible.”

Sans still hadn’t spoken, which was so damn unnerving. He just. STARED. Why was he staring so much?? Cody came out from the kitchen, rolling down his sleeves, beaming.

“Well guys? What do you think? Can you manage here okay?”

Ever the lead man, Papyrus stepped up.

“OF COURSE! AS I HAVE BEEN TELLING YOUR GENEROUS SISTER, HER HOME IS WONDERFUL! IT’S SO NICE NOT TO FEEL CLAUSTROPHOBIC IN A SPACE! WHY, I HAVE ALREADY DECIDED THE BEDROOM ON THE RIGHT UPSTAIRS IS PERFECT FOR ME! EVEN IF THE FURNITURE IS, PERHAPS, A BIT SMALL.”

Cody beamed at Papyrus, then to you, causing warmth to bubble in your heart. You, you hadn’t made him very proud lately. So, seeing such warmth and pride, instead of pain and worry made all of this completely bearable, no matter what.

You started as Papyrus bent over, gently taking one of your hands in his two gloved ones, eyes meeting yours properly for the first time. You hadn’t realized how kind crinkled sockets could look, but it helped bring more warmth to you.

“DEAR IRENE, WE WILL ABSOLUTELY LET YOU KNOW IF WE NEED A THING, BUT WE ARE ALREADY SO GRATEFUL. I TRULY CANNOT EXPRESS HOW VERY MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME AND MY BROTHER. WE SHALL DO OUR UTMOST TO MAKE THIS A HAPPY HOME, TOGETHER WITH YOU!”

Cheesy statements like that usually just made you laugh, but somehow, when this big bag of bones said it, you felt like he really meant it. Despite your own deep seated misanthropy, you felt like you very much wanted to believe him. Carefully, you patted his hands with your free one, voice soft.

“Thanks Papyrus. I’ll do my best for you guys too.”

Would you, after all this time? Drawing in a breath, you squared your shoulders, holding his hands more firmly, and returning his kind stare with a confident one of your own.

“I promise.”


	2. An Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball keeps rolling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just tossing the second chapter up since I have it and its done. I have two more chapters finished but need editing, and working on a fifth, so hopefully you stick around. No real trigger warnings this time, things are fairly calm. For the moment.
> 
> Thanks for dropping by and kudos/comments are always welcome!

Papyrus was up early, as always. He had never needed much sleep, and he required even less with the amount of latent magic on the surface. He stood on the back porch, watching the sun, that beautiful sun! Creep over the trees and shed light on the yard he had been unable to see last night.

It took his metaphoric breath away.

The water of the pond shimmered and glistened in the light, the surface only disturbed by a few birds (ducks? He thought they were ducks). A large tree grew a bit back from the shore line, a bench placed near it so the seating would be in the shade, were there still leaves on the tree. A light frost glittered on the grass and he felt like he could cry.

The chill in the air settled on his bones, invigorating him. He was in his best workout tank top and shorts, having run around the property as much as he dared before sunrise. Taking everything in, he held on desperately to his hopes. This had to work. It would break his soul to leave such a perfect place. It reminded him a little of Snowdin, before the famine happened.

He suddenly started from his reverie as a bundle of brown black fur ran up to him, circling and sniffing, before bounding away down the short stairs to the yard. Turning, he saw their savior, their hero, their last minute champion!

You looked terrible.

Hair askew, bundled in a sweater and some slippers, desperately clutching a mug of something steaming, blearily blinking at him and squinting in the oncoming light. He was reminded of how Sans was when he just woke up and it was very endearing. Shooting you a smile he waited for you to initiate an interaction.

You weren’t saying good morning.

Why weren’t you saying anything??

Should HE say something?

What if you didn’t want to be spoken to?

Had he already done something wrong?

What if he wasn’t supposed to go on the porch???

You looked so grumpy!!

He was jerked out of his panicked thoughts by a roughly cleared throat. Looking down, you were clearly attempting to smooth your formerly pinched face.

“Sorry.”

Blinking, Papyrus, looked about helplessly, before turning back. You smiled awkwardly, taking a sip of your drink.

“Relax. M’ not mad. Just not a morning person. Gimme a bit.”

Oh. Oh! Yes, of course! You had been up late talking with Cody and going over papers and things, and it WAS very early. Beaming, Papyrus tried to lower his voice to greet you. He knew by now (and after many bad interactions) that not everyone appreciated his enthusiasm so early in the morning.

“Good Morning, Human Irene! I Will Try To Keep That In Mind For The Future!”

You just nodded, apparently done with speaking for now, deciding to stand next to him at the railing, watching Thalia race about, doing her thing. After about ten minutes, and finishing the mug, you whistled and the pile of furry energy bolted up the stairs, coming to sit in front of you obediently.

The dog was big compared to you! But still small. You were both so small. Papyrus felt the old fears creeping in. He didn’t feel it around Cody, who was big for a human, pretty sturdy based on his boasts about going to the gym. But most humans were small. And fragile. What if he hurt you? He could do it so easily.

Would he accidentally break your back giving you a hug? 

Would he grab you too hard and snap something? 

What if-

“Papyrus?”

Oh no, he zoned out again! He was getting as bad as Sans!

“Y-YES?? I’M FINE!”

You flinched and his hands flew up to his mouth. He had hurt you just with his voice! This was a terrible way to start his first day here!

“I! I Am So-!”

Your hand was warm as it settled on his forearm. He froze, but slowly lowered his hands as you carefully brushed your thumb back and forth over the bone.

“It’s okay. Don’t cry. Take some deep breaths, or, whatever helps calm you down?”

Giving a watery laugh, Papyrus shut his sockets, focusing on his soul, trying to calm its erratic rhythms. Then outwards, forcing himself to recognize the steady warmth seeping into his arm from your hand. It was a grounding presence.

It was fine. You were fine. He hadn’t done anything bad. No one was hurt. This was just a misunderstanding. Perfectly reasonable for only knowing someone for less than a day!

Letting out a shaky sigh, Papyrus used his free hand to pat yours, still on his other arm. Taking the silent hint, you stepped back, leaning down and scratching Thalia’s ears as she panted happily.

Well.That could have gone better. Or it could have gone worse! This, this was okay. He was okay. He gave you as charming of a smile as he could muster, and you just smiled sleepily back at him, clearly still not fully awake.

Yawning, you turned towards the door, shuffling back inside. Stopping, you looked at him from the door, the wheels of your mind turning slowly before you spoke.

“Well. Want some breakfast?”

Ah, just the way to start things fresh! Nothing brings people together like food! He followed after you eagerly, his energy making Thalia bounce and bark happily.

“Only If You Let Me Make It!”

  
  


You had to hand it to the overly exuberant skeleton. He made a mean omelet. You couldn’t recall the last time you had eaten so much for breakfast. Or eaten breakfast at all. The two egg omelet with veggies and cheese smelled great, tasted awesome, but was just too much. Half way through, you offered it to him, apologizing and making excuses and giving compliments.

He readily accepted your words and easily devoured what was left in a bite, before continuing eating his massive four egg omelet. Where did it all go?? Thank goodness you were going to be getting a food stipend. You didn’t make bad money, you could live comfortably, especially with the house paid off, but if Papyrus was anything to go by, you’d be burning through your savings trying to keep the two of them fed!

Feeling more awake after mug #2, you got Thalia her food, which she happily chowed down on, butt wiggling in delight. She was such a good dog, you were eternally grateful that Claire had gotten her for you. Your older siblings had all been worried about you being out “in the middle of nowhere” alone. Really, you had neighbors some hundred yards away. It wasn’t that bad.

But the rottweiler’s company was delightful, if nothing else. And she was a great cuddle buddy. Standing with a small groan, your left leg feeling sore today, you went back to the kitchen where Papyrus was already cleaning all the dishes. He was far more efficient at taking care of things than you. Nice.

Clearing your throat, you decided to rush into your conversation, otherwise you would overthink it all and just make things worse.

“So! Papyrus. Uh, I know that the stuff upstairs in your room, especially the desk and the bed, probably don’t fit you well? I got some information from Cody about how to get things from a shop for you guys. I took today off from work so we could try to get you both settled in more.”

Papyrus nodded, humming a bit as he finished drying the skillet.

“Yes! I Do Know Where The Nice Furniture Maker Is. We Have Been There A Few Times, He Should Still Have Our Measurements! The Old Locations May Have Turned In Some Of The Things Built For Us By Now As Well, So We Can Take That.”

Yes, he knew what he was doing! Fantastic! If you got this done quickly, you could hide out in your room the rest of the day!

“Oh! Great! Well, I was told the shop opens at 8, so just let me get cleaned up and we can head into town. We can get some groceries while we’re at it. Should we, uh….”

How do you politely ask if you should ditch a guy’s brother?

But the big skeleton just nodded, looking a bit sad.

“Yes, We Should Leave My Brother Be For Now. He Doesn’t Sleep Well, And Sleeps Late. He Also Does Not Like Shopping, The Lights And Noise Bother Him. I Am Happy To Get Whatever We Need For Both Of Us!”

Chewing at your nails, you nodded. Part of you felt bad excluding Sans, but another part was relieved you wouldn’t have to deal with his silent staring. Even if Papyrus was… Odd looking, he was decidedly charming in his taped on glasses and braces. You hadn’t expected the crop top and shorts combo this morning, a bit blind sided by it, but whatever. He pulled it off well.

Sans though… He just plain freaked you out. If it wasn’t for Cody asking, you wouldn’t have let him in the house. That red stare and hooded face, looking so blank, sent shivers down your spine.

Waving to Papyrus and heading back to your room, you showered and dressed quickly, opting for jeans, a sweater, and sneakers. Easy to move things if needed and decidedly comfy. 

Taking a deep breath, you picked up a photo by your bed, giving it a wobbly smile. He would have welcomed them with open arms and an open heart. Had always been so giving. You needed to be more like that. Sans had done nothing but look scary, he didn’t deserve your fear or suspicion. You would need to just get to know the quiet skeleton more. Smiling more brightly, you set the photo back down and gave it a small wave.

“Well, I’m off. Watch the house for me while I’m gone, okay?”

  
  


Sans stared at the ceiling as he heard a car start and then drive off. Feeling relieved that neither of you had tried to get him to go along, he let his mind drift, staring out the skylight above him at the shifting clouds. It had been nice to wake up to, helped him remember he was above ground immediately, instead of dealing with a few minutes of terror before opening the blinds.

The bed hadn’t been awful either, aside from being a bit small. The room was simply decorated, a few pictures, soothing grey walls with blue accents and dark wood floors. Standing, he shuffled and looked out the window, staring across the pond at the woods.

It was so quiet here. He hadn’t heard or seen a single car except for the one that just left. Grabbing his sweater, he took a shortcut downstairs, wandering into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he found some food made for him by Papyrus, complete with a note complaining about his laziness. Classic. Opting not to warm it up, he started wolfing it down, trying to take in all the details of the home.

Wandering from space to space, he agreed with Paps. With how open the home was and the many windows, he didn’t feel claustrophobic at all. Even the bedroom hadn’t been bad. Stopping at the built-ins flanking the fireplace, he looked at the books and knick knacks that filled them. The cabinets underneath just held board games, some more books, and dog toys. Thalia perked up and pranced over to him, eagerly looking between him and the toys, whining.

Cute. He’d always liked dogs.

Reaching out, he carefully stroked Thalia’s head, and she eagerly returned the affection by attempting to climb all over him and get her face in his food. Humans were always scared of him up here, but animals seemed to like him as much as ever. He chuckled and took out some large rubber chew toy, which the dog took to immediately, gnawing and tossing it all about, electing to ignore the person who gave it to her.

Looking out the front window, he scratched idly at his empty socket, but didn’t try pulling at it. He was feeling pretty good right now, actually. Something was bothering him though. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. Something was amiss in the house, but what? A vague feeling of frustration washed over him. If it wasn’t for the damn chunk missing from his skull, he would already have this figured out. Instead, he was stuck with feelings and puzzle pieces that don’t fit together right.

Finishing the food, he took it back to the sink, running water over it. That was something, right? More helpful than he usually was, anyway. Papyrus would be happy he made an attempt. He left the house by the backdoor, jumping a bit as Thalia charged by his legs to run outside.

Stars he hoped he didn’t lose your dog. But like the good dog she was, she stayed nearby, wiggling at him, as if demanding he walk with her.

Well, he wasn’t one to turn down a request from a friend.

Slowly, he traversed around the pond, just listening. Branches rustled, leaves long lost to the ground crunching under his feet. The pond gurgled quietly, a small stream trickling into and out of it. Thalia occasionally bounded away, barking at some creature unknown before returning to his side and keeping pace with him, sniffing this way and that.

No one crossing the street away from him. No whispers. No pointed stares. 

Just quiet, natural noises, and a curious dog.

Stopping by the bench, he sat down. It was a sturdy thing of metal and thick wood, with plenty of room on the seat and armrest and a comfortably high back, even for his height. Tilting his head up, he watched the empty branches sway against a clear blue sky as Thalia continued roaming nearby, doing her dog thing.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, slowly churning through his thoughts and the details he had shoved to the side until now.

No photos that he had seen.

Large house for one person.

Cody’s words of warning.

The books in the cabinet… What did their host do for a living again? Vital info before coming to a conclusion.

“SANS!! SANS WE HAVE RETURNED!! COME AND HAVE LUNCH WITH US!!”

Twitching, he refocused, finding Thalia sprinting back to the house and Paps waving at him from the porch. He stood slowly, ready to walk back up the small slope to the short set of stairs when he spotted something he missed on first inspection.

Leaning down, he squinted to read the letters carved into the wood.

“ The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

Another puzzle piece.

Going back in, tugging his hood up, his brother greeted him, rambling on about the good deals at the supermarket and how the nice furniture people would be by in the afternoon to help set up the rooms, and how they really needed to unpack their clothes and other items.

The hum of his brother’s voice faded into the background as he sat at the breakfast bar, tapping one finger and keeping his one eye on you. From his side view, it was easy to look away quickly. He knew he unnerved people, and that you were already wary of him. But now that he looked distracted, and you were in the living room, he was able to get better clues.

That smile you’d been (admirably) keeping up since last night had fallen away as you stared blankly at the fireplace, your gaze clearly looking at something far away. Thalia was curled up on top of you and you gently stroked her fur, making soft murmurs towards the creature.

You looked… tired. Even though you appeared healthy at first glance, you looked ready to collapse at any moment. You would check your phone from time to time, idly, as if it was just something to do to fill the time.

He snapped his gaze away as Papyrus whirled around, smiling brightly.

“TIME FOR LUNCH! I MADE CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES!”

Your smile returned, that blankness hidden behind a wall of good cheer.

“Thanks Papyrus. It’s so kind of you to cook, you didn’t have to! Here, let me set the table quick.”

“NONSENSE! YOU JUST GO SIT DOWN, I’LL HAVE THIS DONE IN NO TIME! SANS! GO SIT!”

Shrugging, he stood and went to the table, and ended up sitting across from you. You were picking at your nails again. Nervous habit? Maybe he should try to break the ice. He had decided to try his best here, even if it would inevitably fail.

“what do you do for work?”

He watched as you started, blinking at him with a surprised look. Huh, your eyes were a lighter shade of brown than Cody’s. Hazel? Was that the word? Pretty similar hair color and texture though.

Smile slightly pinched at the corners, you moved your arms as Papyrus bustled by, laying out plates and cups and food.

“Oh… I’m a librarian. At the west branch. Adult Services.”

Papyrus sat down and began divvying food between everyone.

“WE HAD A LIBRARY UNDERGROUND! I LOVE BOOKS! ESPECIALLY PUZZLE BOOKS!”

Sans focused on his food, trying to keep his stare to himself and let you focus on Paps. This should encourage more conversation, and he had done his due diligence of trying to interact nicely.

“Yes, I like books too. But more importantly, I like working with people. There’s a lot to my job that isn’t just books.”

“OH? LIKE WHAT?”

“I plan and implement programming, make displays, print off forms, help people with local services and job hunting, and try to do outreach to the local community. Stuff like that. I like helping people in a lot of different ways.”

“FASCINATING! I DON’T THINK OUR LIBRARIAN DID ANYTHING LIKE THAT!”

Sans dared a quick look up and a more genuine smile had appeared as you spoke about your work with his brother, filling him in on the details of one of your more successful programs and some funny stories. Sans decided he particularly liked the one about the guy who kept pulling puppies out of a large bag while sitting at a computer.

This could explain those books in the cabinets. If you were a librarian, of course you would have books on all sorts of topics. Maybe you just liked your space and solitude too, like he did, thus the large house. Cody had mentioned the family was a little bit scattered, so maybe you just didn’t have many photos, or you were too lazy to put them up. The words Cody spoke still bothered him, but he laid it to rest. There was time to find more information.

Content enough for the time being, Sans finished his first helping and moved on to the second, contemplating his next move. A lull had appeared in the conversation, should he try to ask another question?

You beat him to the punch though, actually addressing him directly for the first time since dinner last night.

“So! Sans, Papyrus mentioned that you like astronomy?”

Pausing long enough to swallow, he kept his eyes down when he responded.

“yeah.”

“Well, uh, I have a telescope? If you’d like to use it sometime?”

You were nervous again. He hadn’t even been looking at you this time! Your fear was grating on his nerves, but your offer seemed genuine, which somewhat soothed his ire.

“that would… be nice.”

Your voice perked up, sounding relieved. He didn’t risk looking at you, in case he freaked you out again.

“Great! I’ll dig it out and clean it up, I’m sure it’s a bit dusty. Hasn’t been used in awhile. Do you want me to leave it out here for you? Or take it to your room?”

More conversing? This was tiring, but he caught Papyrus’ stare from the corner of his socket. His brother’s face was practically screaming “BE NICE AND RESPOND TO THE HELPFUL HUMAN WHO IS OUR ONLY SHIELD BETWEEN THIS VERY NICE LIFE AND BEING LOCKED UP WITH THE OTHER MONSTERS WHO COULDN’T ADAPT”.

“down here is fine. easier to take it to the yard that way.”

Not that lifting any kind of human telescope presented much of an issue, but the image of this human falling down the stairs and snapping her neck trying to haul a telescope upstairs for him convinced him to make things as easy for her as possible. Any accidents would be blamed on them, whether they caused them or not. He’d learned that the hard way at the second location.

“Okay! I’ll do that later then. Oh, uh, Papyrus also mentioned that you like burgers? The weather is still decent enough during the day that I could grill some up for us sometime? I got meat and stuff…”

This was… far more effort than almost anywhere else had bothered to put in. Most of the housing locations were just that. Housing. The humans there either monitored them clinically, or kept things to a polite minimum, barely getting to know the brothers.

What were you scheming?

“sure. sounds good.”

Finally the conversation turned back away from his as Papyrus interjected about his favorite foods, with you promising to help him make some kind of vegetarian pasta dish for dinner sometime, mentioning your own particular fondness for Japanese food, which set off a whole discussion about regional cuisines of the humans. You were very knowledgeable about it. For someone who didn’t eat much (which made him vaguely concerned. You needed to eat.), you knew a lot about different foods.

Papyrus cleaned everything up again, ignoring any offers of help, while you retreated to your office, making excuses about needing to check some emails. He watched you leave, noting how your shoulders dropped as soon as you thought you were out of sight, door closing quietly behind you.

Wandering over to the sink, he stared out the window as his brother hummed while cleaning the dishes.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF OUR HOST, BROTHER? I’M VERY IMPRESSED YOU SPOKE SO MUCH TO HER! GOOD JOB!”

He shrugged, scratching at his dead socket again.

“she’s... interesting.”

Yes, you were very interesting. This would be fun, provided he got to stay here long enough to puzzle you out.

He’d always enjoyed PICKING THINGS APART.

  
  


Sitting in your extremely comfortable desk chair, you sighed, collapsing forward to flop on the sturdy desk top, carefully dodging your keyboard and monitor. What a day. You were already exhausted and it was only lunch time. You still had to deal with the furniture later and get the telescope out and cleaned up at some point.

WHY had you offered to get the damn thing out? It meant going in the shed. Stomach churning (from all the food you had been eating or nerves, couldn’t tell), heat started building up behind your eyes.

Sitting up, you tried to turn your focus elsewhere, booting up your computer to start dealing with some emails. No thinking about it. Just tune it out. Better to think about where you were going to store the furniture from the rooms. Maybe the garage or the small basement you hadn’t bothered showing them. It just housed a few boxes and the utilities of the house. It could probably fit the broken down beds, desks and chairs. The mattresses though…

Time flew by as you dedicated yourself to responding to personal emails, setting up times for different meetings, and interacting on the most recent email your father had sent to the whole family. Some comic or another. It brought a quirk of a smile to your face as you typed up and sent a quick reply. Why didn’t that dork just text about it to the family chat? To be fair, he frequently sent you letters with random comics cut from the paper, even though you saw him once a month.

You only emerged from the office when the doorbell rang, amused at Papyrus eagerly staring at the door, but clearly waiting for you to answer it. Sans was sprawled on the couch, looking even more like a human corpse than usual. How could he be so still?? Freaky.

The next hour and a half flew by as the furniture guys easily disassembled, moved, and re-set up both bedrooms. It wasn’t much, given the furniture size, but both rooms now had large enough beds, a desk, and a desk chair. The bookcases and side tables you had were deemed good enough to stay in those spaces. The movers even had mattress bags for the old mattresses, and carefully put them in the rafters of your garage. Very efficient.

Instead of getting in the way, once one room was set up, you helped Papyrus make the beds and unpack and hang some things. Carefully hanging up one of the large skeleton’s sweaters, you looked at him tucking in his new sheets, humming some upbeat song.

“Hey, Papyrus?”

“YES IRENE?”

“Do you guys need dressers or anything? I didn’t see them bring any. We might be able to fit some in the closets.”

“NO, NOT AT ALL! WE’RE USED TO HANGING MOST OF OUR THINGS! AND WE STILL HAVE SUITCASES AND THE DESK, SO DON’T FRET! THIS IS PLENTY OF STORAGE!”

You had gotten used to his volume while out that morning. It was kind of amusing, and admittedly his high energy levels were rubbing off on you a little bit. Besides, he was so sweet, you hated to disappoint him. Even if you did have to convince him to put things back or in the cart when he tried to walk out of the grocery store with food hidden poorly under his sweater. At least you noticed before security did.

You hummed in response and hung another clearly home modified T Shirt. His fashion sense was delightfully eclectic. Maybe you should get out some of your old things… No, they were far too big at the moment.

“UM, IRENE?”

“You can call me Rini. Only my mom and my name tag say Irene so much.”

“A NICKNAME! I HADN’T REALIZED WE HAD MOVED INTO THAT STAGE OF FRIENDSHIP SO QUICKLY! YOU MAY SHORTEN MY NAME AS WELL! THIS IS SUCH A GOOD DAY!!”

“I mean, I just prefer… Okay, sure. Advanced friendship. Uh, did you have something to ask?”

“OH! YES! I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD, PERHAPS, IF YOU WANTED AND HAD THE TIME, If We Could Go And do something together tomorrow as friends?”

You stared blankly at the items in front of you. Go do something? It sounded exhausting. Hadn’t you gone and done things today? Besides, you didn’t deserve to go do fun things, not since you-

No. You promised to enjoy things again. You promised to take care of these two and give them a home. You PROMISED. You had to try.

“What-”

You coughed, your throat suddenly dry. You could do this. HAD to do this.

“What did you have in mind?


	3. An Outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which people are the best and the worst and our favorite monsters visit the library.
> 
> TW: Minor violence, anxiety

Why in the name of all the stars did he agree to this?

Looking forward at his younger brother’s clear delight as he scoured the map for any other paths to wander down, Sans remembered why. Because Paps had asked.

He couldn’t complain that much, really. You all were strolling through the nature preserve right by the house, with the resident human pointing out different signs and explaining some more details about the reserve and the creatures that lived in it. Late fall wasn’t great for seeing animals, but there also weren’t a ton of people around with how cold and windy it was.

Plus, he had been promised burgers after this, despite his brother’s complaints about grease. He supposed he could admit a small amount of excitement at the prospect, since he really didn’t feel like trying to get one from his old fiery pal. Things just… weren’t the same between them, awkward and uncomfortable any time he tried to visit. So, he simply gave up on going a few months back. It was better that way.

It was just, two hours of wandering around even fairly flat paths, wasn’t really his thing. Couldn’t you two have gone by yourselves? You and Paps kept trying to interact with him too, which was just annoying. Paps was fine, but he didn’t want you nosing into his business. Heaving a sigh, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists in his pockets, he waited and watched Thalia bounce around. Thank the stars the dog was a good distraction.

“And there’s the end! It’s a nice walk, Thalia loves it. I hadn’t been getting out here as much lately, so good suggestion Papyrus.”

“IT WAS A LOVELY WALK! THANK YOU FOR COMING WITH, RINI! AND I TOLD YOU, YOU CAN SHORTEN MY NAME! WE’RE FRIENDS!”

When had that happened? Nicknames now? He distantly recalled Cody had called you something like that. It hasn’t even been a week! Why was Paps getting so close to you so quickly??

Oblivious to his silent distress, Sans watched you smile and pat his brother’s arm.

“Sure, sure, sorry Papy. I just need to get used to it, that’s all.”

Great, now Paps was beaming at you, before turning that brilliant smile his way. Fuck, he couldn’t stay mad, as much as he wanted to. He just shot his bro a thumbs up, which was apparently good enough approval for the taller skeleton to go back to chatting with you.

This was bad. He knew how attached and dependent his brother could get when anyone showed him a modicum of kindness. It was something Paps was working on, that dependence on external validation. He was starting to show the signs again though. Sans was going to need to sit down and talk with his brother. AGAIN.

This was your fault. He’d been doing better, but now here you were, going out of your way and being too nice. No wonder Paps was falling back into his old approval seeking patterns. Teeth grinding, he kept things to himself for the moment. Now wasn’t the time, not when Papyrus was enjoying the day.

The next week Sans watched. You had gone back to work on Monday, bright and early. You usually worked Monday to Friday, one night shift in there per week ,mentioning that you worked some Saturdays as needed. 

The first day you were gone, Papyrus had busied himself with meal prepping, cleaning, going on his phone, and scribbling out puzzles on paper again. It was good to see him getting his old interests back, even if the puzzles were centered around entertaining their impromptu landlady.

Tuesday, the anxiety was setting in more. Paps got your permission to go on the computer in your office, even if it was a bit small for him. Sans sat with him, trying to point out jobs or classes that might be well suited to his super cool bro and sending in applications. Not that Sans was confident they would hear back from any of them...

Wednesday, Cody came by to chat, see how things were going. Sans let Papyrus handle that conversation, and it looked like the older human couldn’t be happier or more relieved. Then Cody took them to their therapy sessions (Sans personally never bothered to open up much. Kind of a waste of time, really. Seemed to be doing Papyrus good though). The human even took them out to lunch and around to visit some of the other monsters, which was nice and seemed to relax both skeletons a bit.

Thursday, Sans sat on the bench out back as Papyrus kept running around the property, having obtained information on where the boundary lines were from you. Thalia was delighted to hop along, though gave up after a time to come flop near him, exhausted. Paps was also texting you frequently, though you could only respond a few times during the day on your breaks, which definitely stressed the tall skeleton out.

Friday seemed to be the breaking point. Sans had been asleep, peacefully for once, when he jolted awake to the sound of loud crying that he was very familiar with. In a flash, he was downstairs, trying to shake off his sleep and confusion at the sight in front of him, skull throbbing at the sudden use of magic.

“I-I AM SO SORRY!! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”

“Hey, hey, no, shh, you’re fine. Accidents happen. Don’t cry.”

“B-BUT I WASTED FOOD! AND BROKE YOUR PLATE! AND NOW YOU HAVE NO LOVINGLY CRAFTED BREAKFAST BEFORE GOING AND WORKING ALL DAY!”

A shattered ceramic plate and the remains of what appeared to be toast, eggs, and bacon were scattered all over the floor. You were desperately clinging to the dog’s collar, trying to keep Thalia back from the fallen food (oh, to keep her from swallowing the plate shards along with the food), while also gently patting Papyrus on the shoulder and trying to get him to calm down. Mind finally catching up, he quickly tugged his hood up, hiding the gaping head wound. You still hadn’t seen it yet, and he intended to keep it that way. Seeing his injury always made people act different around him, and he hated it.

“It’s just a plate, it can be replaced. And if we can get the shards up, we can clean up the food and toss it out back for the animals, they’ll eat it. So no waste, right? Please don’t be upset.”

Papyrus wiped at his eyes, still sniffling, mournfully staring at the floor. You sighed, looking up and finally noticing Sans. Some form of relief seemed to appear in your frame when you spotted him. That was a new reaction.

“Sans! Could you hold on to Lia here for me? Or help your brother up? Whichever. I’m just out of hands and really need to get this sorted quick.”

“...sure.”

With ease, he scooped Thalia up in one arm, before turning to his brother, only somewhat noticing the surprised look on your face.

“heya, bro. why don’t you come over here with me?”

“BUT, BUT I SHOULD HELP! I NEED TO FIX THINGS!”

Sans just carefully took one of his brother’s hands, tugging him along. Papyrus was oddly cooperative when he got like this, which Sans didn’t like (it just wasn’t like his headstrong, confident baby brother), but it was necessary right now.

“c’mon, let’s go sit down. just breathe.”

Papyrus was rattling; he was so stressed as he sat on the couch his older brother could practically feel it coming off of him. Sans sat down next to him, Thalia on the final spot so he could keep a hand on her collar as she tugged against his grip, whining. He heard you running around trying to clean, soft muttering he couldn’t make out mixed in with the clatter of broken ceramic. With every clink and scrape, the big skeleton seemed to shrink into himself more and more.

Well, Paps still wasn’t calming down. Time for the big guns.

“y’know, it could have been worse.”

Yep, got his attention, a suspicious glint in his younger brother’s socket.

“ya could have spilled alphabet soup. that would have-”

“DON’T YOU DARE-”

“spelled disaster.”

The look of offense was absolutely worth it.

“I CANNOT BELIEVE, IN THIS TIME OF GREAT DISTRESS, YOU WOULD DO SUCH A THING TO ME.”

“now, now, no need to get upset. Another one bit the crust, that’s all.”

“NO! CEASE AND DESIST! I DEMAND YOU TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!”

“all right, i will. so, penne for your thoughts?”

“NYEEEEH!!! THAT DOESN’T EVEN WORK!! THERE WAS NO PASTA INVOLVED!!!”

A small guffaw was heard from the kitchen, but was quickly smothered by a pretend coughing fit. Looking over, it was easy to see you there, shoulders shaking a bit as you finished scooping up the last of the food, tossing it outside for the local critters. Guess he couldn’t really be mad about wasted food if it was still getting eaten.

Papyrus squinted at you suspiciously as you came out from the kitchen, munching on a granola bar, but you were as neutrally pleasant and unruffled as ever. Sans could appreciate the poker face smile, and that you had secretly laughed at his terrible jokes.

“Well, all fixed up! You can let Lia go, she’ll be my mop and lick up anything left.”

Nodding, Sans let go of the wiggling bundle of fur, who launched herself towards the kitchen. He watched carefully as you again gently patted Papyrus on the shoulder.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Everything is fine. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dropped a plate or glass. I’m not mad.”

Having calmed down, Papyrus simply twiddled his fingers, not meeting your eyes.

“ARE… ARE YOU SURE?”

“Of course. Now, I need to get going, but I’ll text you later, okay?”

Sans sighed, seeing his brother deflate more. Today was going to be a bad day, he could just tell. And, apparently, so could you.

“Tell you what, you haven’t been to the library yet, right?”

No response, so Sans interjected.

“no, we haven’t.”

Beaming at him for the assist (he could get used to your approving smile, it was much better than the blithely neutral one you usually wore), you crouched in front of Papyrus, gently taking his fidgeting hands and squeezing them.

“Why don’t I call Cody and see if he can bring you to see me at work? I was taking a half day anyway, I have some personal things to do in the afternoon. But you can come see what I do, and we can get lunch together before I go do my other stuff. How about it?”

After a minute, Papyrus finally squeezed your hands back, a tentative smile coming back to his face, which filled Sans with relief.

“THAT… SOUNDS NICE. I WOULD LIKE THAT.”

“Great! I’ll call him on the way to work and he’ll get in touch, all right?”

Papyrus was perfectly calm and bright again, nodding eagerly even as you let go and hurried to grab your bags. Waving goodbye, you stopped to give Thalia a scratch behind the ear before heading off. Papyrus started going on about what he should wear for such a momentous occasion, hurrying upstairs to peruse his closet.

Sans just leaned back, closing his eyes to think and maybe take a nap. Thoughts drifting, listening to the rustling of his brother upstairs, and soon feeling the weight of the dog against his leg, he pondered. 

You were surprisingly good with Paps. You calmed him down, but also kept your distance, even with Papyrus trying to latch on. Setting good boundaries without hurting him. To be fair you seemed to keep your distance from most people, but he hadn’t seen you around anyone but him, his brother, and your brother. But still. Maybe… maybe this COULD work out. All he needed to do was keep a low profile. You two got on great, so as long as he stayed out of the way, this could perhaps be a permanent home. And he did like the dog. He thought you may even be warming up to him a little, if this morning was anything to go by. Didn’t spook so much around him.

Yes, as long as he didn’t mess things up with his outbursts or reveal too much, this could definitely work.

...so why couldn’t he shake the feeling this was still going to be a bad day?

  
  


You sighed, head still throbbing. You’d had another bad night, even with the medicine. Then the outburst this morning had NOT helped. You were exhausted before even leaving to go to your especially early Friday staff meeting. At least you had gotten everything dealt with and weren’t late. That would have broken the illusion you had set up for everyone around you. Sans even came to help! His brother, of course, but still. You appreciated it. And wow, watching him one hand pick up your 100 lb dog was wild. You knew monsters were big, and strong, but seeing it demonstrated so clearly…

Shaking your head, you tried to re-focus. Finishing typing up an email to the department head, you sent it off before turning to your latest project.

Maybe you could ask Sans and Papyrus for input on your programming idea, see if there would be any issues. You were hoping to run a series of events all around monsters and monster culture, try and erase some of the stigma and misunderstandings. You were also going to be having food (the best way to increase turnout). The new (old?) queen who had stepped up in the wake of the barrier falling offered to make traditional monster pies for each event and a few other monster restaurants were offering their food as donations.

Checking the clock, you signed out of your workstation to head downstairs to your last desk of the day. Cody told you he would bring the guys by around now, so you could show them around a little bit since your partner could help cover the reference desk. A few minutes in, having already resolved a few tech issues on the computers in the lab, they turned up.

Papyrus was absolutely darling in another home adjusted sweater. Formerly saying “I’m Cold”, it had been changed to “I’m Cool”, which was completely delightful paired with his round frame glasses and braces. What a dork. A treasure. Sans was… well, Sans. Hiding in his jacket hood, trying to melt into the background (an impossible task). Though he was wearing actual shoes instead of slippers, which was a great change of pace!

Cody waved and coaxed them over. Your coworker, Janine, a seasoned veteran who had been in the business for twenty years longer than you, gave them a calm smile, before turning back to her emails. You had told her you were expecting visitors.

Beaming, your older brother leaned on the desk.

“So! How’s your day going?”

You couldn’t help but smile back. He knew he was charming, the jerk.

“I’m good, just the usual stuff.”

Leaning around him, you waved to the monsters, Papyrus waving back eagerly, Sans barely reacting at all. Normal.

“Rini! I Am Very Excited To Come Here! I Have Never Seen So Many Books In One Place!”

Oh good, Cody reminded him to use his inside voice. Conversation was totally acceptable in the library, just not at the volume Papyrus usually operated.

“This isn’t even the whole collection. We rotate books between here and the other three branches. And we have a bookmobile.”

Papyrus was practically vibrating in delight.

“WOW- Ahem, Wowie! That’s So Much!”

“Right? Well, have you gotten your library cards yet? We implemented a system for monsters a few months back, though we’re still working a few kinks out of it.”

With great pride, the big goof pulled his shiny new library card out of his pocket, his name printed in a surprisingly detailed font on the back. 

“Sans Got One Too! Come On Brother, Show Her!”

With significantly less fanfare, the older monster tugged his card out of his pocket as well, showing it quickly before shoving it away again, face pointed down. Looking around, you noticed the attention the two were getting. Sans didn’t seem to like to look at people, so maybe this all was really uncomfortable for him. Time to hurry things up.

“Hey, Janine, I’m going to give them a quick tour, that okay?”

“Of course, you take your time. We’re almost never busy around now, I can handle it.”

Smiling, you slipped out from behind the desk, Cody giving you a quick hug that you happily returned.

“I’m going to go look for some things for me and the family. You guys come find me when you’re done, okay?”

And off he went. Probably going to look at the Sci Fi books again, the nerd.

Smiling at your charges, you waved to the stacks nearby.

“Shall we go then?”

  
  


It didn’t take long to tour them around your location. Fiction, Nonfiction, Reference, Biography, Mystery, Audiobooks, DVDs, board games, the makerspace, the nifty backpack kits for local state parks, museums, and stargazing, and the small outdoor garden filled with local flora. Along the way you also explained many of the services you provided, such as GED courses, language courses, online databases, one on one assistance, the works.

By the end of your tour, even Sans seemed impressed, having actually asked questions about the research databases and the stargazing backpack. You should have thought about putting one on hold sooner for him, of course he would like it! Though the hold list for it was FOREVER long. Very popular resource.

Damn, you still really needed to get that telescope out too. You knew you had been putting it off to avoid going in the shed, but it had already been a week and you were running out of excuses. Maybe you could con Cody into getting it out for you. But no, that would make him suspicious, and you had been doing so well lately…

With about half an hour left until you were done, you shooed the guys towards the kids section where you had spotted Cody a few minutes before. He could handle taking them around if they wanted to check anything out.

All was well. Perfectly normal day. Helped some people find a few books, helped a few older folks with their emails and word documents, looked up some directions for a guy. The usual.

Until you could hear ear piercing screams from across the library. Jerking up, you and Janine both reached for your walkie talkies to call security while looking around, as were most of the people in the computer lab. Relaxing at the lack of screaming in your area, a vague concern started eating at the back of your mind. Okay, the issue wasn’t here, but…

You felt your stomach drop, hoping it was just someone ODing in the bathroom again and not what you thought it could be.

“Janine, I need to-”

“Go on, check on them. You’re off in a few minutes anyway, don’t worry about me.”

“You’re the best, thanks”

Before waiting to hear her response, you hurried off in the direction the shrieks had come from, spotting security making their way over there quickly as well. Closing the gap unfortunately made the screaming words much clearer though.

“NO! I WANT THEM GONE! THEY SCARED MY CHILD!”

“Ma’am, they were with me looking at books, I assure you that-”

“THINGS LIKE THAT SHOULDN’T BE OUT HERE! I THOUGHT THE HOMELESS WERE BAD ENOUGH!”

No, nonono. Not one of these people, not today, not-

The scene in front of you was gut wrenching. Cody had deftly put himself, holding a stack of books, between the screaming woman with a crying child and an older teenager, the skeletons at his back. Papyrus was practically cowering, trying not to cry, holding onto his brother. Sans… looked ready to kill someone, honestly. You hadn’t seen such a terrifying smile on his face before, he was usually so deadpan (...would Sans appreciate that as a joke?). And his hood was down….

You wanted to cry. That… that was a big hole. What… happened? Gingerly you reached up, pressing your palm into your own head, the headache you were experiencing already multiplying almost in sympathy to the gruesome gap. The children’s librarian and security had stepped in as well, trying to diffuse the situation.

You left them and Cody to it, carefully approaching your housemates.

“Papyrus? Are you hurt?”

His teary, fearful look broke your heart. He didn’t let go of Sans, but he did reach out a hand to you, which you gently took into yours, cradling the slim digits softly. He shook his head, but gripped your hand back, bones rattling softly. You stepped closer, adding to the human barrier between the monsters and the woman with her brood.

Uncertain, you also reached out to Sans, but stopped. You weren’t sure if he would appreciate being touched right now. You settled for calling his name.

“Sans? Sans? Are you hurt?”

He wouldn’t be ‘okay’ of course. Who would be in a situation like this? But if he was hurt… part of the paperwork had been going over how fragile monsters really could be, and that scared you. You didn’t know them well, but these two had already been hurt so much… And you had promised to take care of them. You weren’t good for much, but you would be damned if you wouldn’t be as good as your word. They were going to be okay if it was the last thing you did.

He still hadn’t looked away from the woman, those big hands curling and uncurling, bright red orb blaring gruesome hatred. You had to keep trying. He couldn’t fly off the handle here. You had seen photos of what their attacks could do, full disclosure before letting them into your home. Taking a deep breath, you stepped closer, very clearly into Sans’ space, front and center.

“Sans!”

In an instant, a jagged hand was curled right at the base of your neck, partly on your shoulder, tips of bony talons digging into the skin of your neck. Keep breathing, keep steady, he’s scared. You locked eyes with one dead socket and one vibrant red pupil. It seemed larger and shakier than when you usually caught sight of it. More deep breaths, control the trembling.

“Sans, are you hurt? Can you answer me?”

Papyrus was staring, sockets darting quickly between the two of you, his grip tightening on his brother’s shoulder and your hand. Slowly, carefully, you lifted your other hand. A red eye followed its path, hand flexing and digging in sharply, making you pause. Wait. Move again. Until you barely brushed against the hand holding you inches from a slit throat.

“Please Sans. I just want to know you aren’t injured. I’m worried.”

Finally, he blinked. The hand relaxed and you carefully pulled it away from your neck, holding onto the formerly deadly weapon as a tremor shook through him. Then, he shook his head.

“‘m... fine…”

You sighed. 

“Good. I’m glad you’re both not injured. Can you tell me what happened?”

The screaming had stopped at some point, but both Cody and one of the guards, John, were hanging near you, uncertain. With your question, John stepped forward, keeping a safe distance when both monsters flinched again.

“Hi there. I got the gist of what happened from this gentleman over here, but I would like to hear your side of the story.”

The two were silent for a moment, you could still feel the fine tremors from their hands into yours. Papyrus took a moment, trying his best to rub at the tear tracks on his face without letting go of you or Sans, before speaking in the softest tone you’d ever heard from him.”

“I- I was trying to look for a book. Skeleton Hiccups? I thought it sounded funny, as I do get the hiccups sometimes! I told, told Cody I was going to look, the nice lady at the desk told me how to look for it on my own.”

You shot a look to Emma, already back at the desk within earshot and she nodded, looking clearly on edge. She was a soft touch, hated confrontation, you had been certain she would adore Papyrus. Of course she was upset this altercation happened in her part of the library. He continued.

“Sans came with me, of course. He already had the books he wanted.... But when we were looking, crouched down, that.. That boy came up and yanked Sans’ hood off… And, And, well, Sans was upset! Of course! It wasn’t his fault! He told the young man off, but the little girl was with that boy, and she saw Sans and…”

You squeezed Sans’ hand. Surprisingly, he squeezed back before letting go, tugging his hood back up as if just remembering that injury was exposed for everyone to gawk at. Papyrus let go as well, fiercely hugging his older brother to his chest as if he was trying to hide him from the world, his voice steadying out and growing stronger.

“She Started Crying When She Saw Him And Ran To Her Mother, The Boy Following. We Met Up With Cody And Then That Woman Came Over To Yell At Us! The Nerve!”

The nerve indeed. She was the type who always came up to the desk to complain about “those types of people” being in the library or bitching that a book that hadn’t even been released yet wasn’t on the shelves already.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. The library is a community space, for everyone to enjoy, just as you were doing. You’re a new, but important part of our community, and I’m sorry you had such a poor experience your first time visiting us.”

Thank you John! He knew the right things to say, just as much as any of the other library workers! The regulars all loved the older, portly gent. He was such an understanding guy.

“We’ve issued the woman a one month suspension, but will also give one to the young man as well. Physically touching another patron without their consent, then screaming at them, is not acceptable behavior. I’m sure this has dampened your experience, but I hope I get to see you here again soon. Besides, I know Irene here would love to have you back. Talked about you visiting all morning, you know!”

You smiled at John, relieved and embarrassed. Had you spoken about them that much? He smiled back, giving you a cheesy and exaggerated wink. This clown, honestly.

Cody interjected himself, all smiles.

“Thanks so much for your understanding! I appreciate your swift actions to defend your patrons. Now, Rini, why don’t you go get your bags and coat? We’re already running late for lunch! I wouldn’t want you to miss your appointments.”

“Oh, yes! I’ll be right back guys. Just a sec!”

Walking off quickly, you chewed at your nails. This could have gone worse, but it still wasn’t great for a first outing. Exhaustion was creeping in again, eating away at the small bits of joy you had actually felt that day. The appointments were going to suck even more now.

Reaching up to your neck, you swiped at one of the small cuts, still bleeding a bit, and you stared at the deep red liquid smeared in the creases of your fingers. The cuts weren’t bad, would scab and be gone soon, but…

You hoped this whole thing didn’t cause more problems at home.


	4. A Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are many feels felt and progress of some kind is made.
> 
> TW: Descriptions of injuries, mentions of death, depression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for continuing to read this tale! I'm very touched by the people who have taken the time to leave kudos and reviews. I hope everyone reading enjoys this next chapter, because more meta plot is going to start peaking in! If you happen to spot any typos, please let me know! I'm a one person crew here and I know I don't catch everything.
> 
> As always, please leave kudos and reviews! I'm always delighted to hear from the folks reading my work!

Three weeks had passed since the unfortunate incident at the library. Your coworkers had all been very sympathetic when you returned on the following Tuesday, hoping the brothers would come by again so they could interact more with them in a positive way. And with Christmas on the horizon, you were thinking about gifts for the brothers and seeing the family. Would the skeleton brothers want to come along? Did they have people to spend the holiday with? How were you going to spend so much time with people who knew you so well and not break your charade? 

Papyrus seemed to have gotten over the whole fiasco for now, especially since you had gone out of your way the next week to check out whatever cute skeleton themed picture books you could find. He had been absolutely delighted, especially when you offered to read them to him. He liked the funny voices you did, so yay for doing the storytime training! Cross training, so useful. His beaming delight was worth the emotional strain. And he was doubly excited with the holiday coming up, claiming to have made “THE BEST, MOST WONDERFUL GYFTMAS PRESENT YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED!”

Sans though… He had become even more reclusive. You barely saw him. If you did, it was for maybe a minute. He was definitely avoiding you. And maybe even Papyrus. You could hear the younger brother knocking at the older’s door, trying to coax him out. He was still eating, at least, based on the plates. And Thalia was always well walked, so you guessed he took her outside during the day.

You sighed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Your thoughts hadn’t quieted at all since you had “gone to sleep” two hours ago. Rolling over, you stared at the empty side of the bed and into the shadows around the room. The darkness helped with your headache, but the cold was making your left arm and leg more sore than usual.

Burrowing deeper under the covers, clutching your stuffed bear close, your mind kept spinning. You were… really worried. About everything. Papyrus was still stealing things if you took him to the grocery store, your program hadn’t been cleared by your boss yet, Sans was going through who knows what, you still hadn’t gotten out that god forsaken telescope yet…

Tears pricked at your eyes and for once, you let them come and allow your emotional walls to break. There was no one here to judge you, no one here to pity you, or whisper about how you were ‘still going on about’ things… curling into a tight ball, you sobbed quietly, tears burning hot and fast. Trembling, lungs heaving, snot blocking your air passages, you finally sat up after who knew how long, fumbling to reach your tissues on the side table, blowing your nose.

Still curled tightly around your bear, your tears kept dripping as you rubbed your face into the soft fuzz. It was too much, everything was too much. You were trying SO HARD! It still hurt! Everything hurts! Inside and outside… why did you have to do everything alone? You weren’t supposed to be alone! You couldn’t even call on the family, they had gotten tired of dealing with your problems forever ago… you couldn’t keep bothering them every time you had a bad day.

Reaching out, you picked up the picture frame, carefully running your fingers over the dainty filigree designs on the edge, staring at the ever familiar photo. Your view of it blurred as more tears fell, but it's not like you didn’t have this image seared into your very heart and mind. Hiccupping, you set the frame back, picture side down. You couldn’t stand to see it right now.

Another sleepless night. May as well go get something done since you’re already awake and miserable. Productive, like a proper adult. Tugging on a sweater and shoving your bare feet into fuzzy, rubber soled slippers, you wandered into the dark silence of your house. Thalia perked up a bit from her bed before settling back down to snooze as you went by, stopping in the kitchen to make a mug of tea.

The kettle hissed as the hot water poured into the mug, tea bag making swirls in the liquid as the two mixed. Staring out the kitchen window, you just drifted, trying to think of nothing at all. The numbness and routine was always preferable to feeling. All the blankness took was following the checklist. Get up, clean up, go to work, smile, pretend you ate, more smiles, feed Lia, walk Lia, call the family… all the things a dutiful daughter and proper member of society did. It proved you weren’t broken beyond repair, didn’t it?

It was a beautiful night, sky clear with bright stars and a brilliant moon. They lit up the snow, a bit melted and crushed down after a few days, but pretty nonetheless. Maybe a walk outside was a better choice than staring at your computer screen doing nothing for a few hours. Everything was quiet in the winter chill of mid December as you stepped into the frigid air, breath shimmering and floating in the night.

At least the cold was refreshing. Breathing deeply, the chill wind cutting into your tear stained face, your roiling nerves and chaotic thoughts started to slow down. A few more deep breaths and some sips of tea, you finally felt steady enough to walk along the grass down to the bench. The snow had already been wiped off of it by someone, probably Sans. He seemed to like it out here at least, if not in the house itself.

Smiling faintly, you sat and stared at the partially frozen pond, lights from the sky dancing in the waters below. This was your favorite spot too. You had fallen in love with the cute pond, the burbling noises from the stream, the pretty tree that made the perfect shade in summer. It was the kind of location you had always dreamed of. There’s a reason you both had decided to put a bench here to admire your favorite part of the property.

The ever familiar burn pricked in your sinuses,and you forced yourself to look up, peering at the stars through bare branches. It really was a gorgeous night, even if you could barely feel your fingers anymore, tea long gone. How long had you even been out here?

The crunch of snow made you perk up, looking around and freezing at the sight of a huge figure. Where had it come from?? But before you could panic too much (large mysterious figures appearing in the night for nefarious purposes was EXACTLY why Claire got you Thalia!), you spotted a familiar detail.

A brilliant scarlet light.

“Oh… hi Sans.”

He seemed about as frozen as you had been, eye light darting between you and the house. Thinking of making a retreat? You looked away quickly hoping to hide the tear tracks, before vanishing behind a calm and pleasant voice.

“I’m not in the mood to talk, so if you don’t mind sharing the bench, we can both just sit here quietly.”

There, open invitation, and a vague compromise. Staring down into the dregs of your frigid tea, you ran cold fingers over the bumpy design of the silly whale mug you loved. To be fair, you loved all your mugs. The collection was getting a bit out of hand…

He did sit, slowly. Was he afraid of you? Or worried you would be afraid of him? Who knows. But at least he was staying near you for longer than a few seconds for the first time in weeks. It was a start. Your fingers kept tracing as you looked up, watching a few stray clouds drift across the sky. For awhile you felt eyes on you, but after a few minutes the feeling vanished. You decided not to look. You were just two people, doing your own thing, sharing a space.

It was oddly peaceful, having someone sitting next to you on the bench again. It made a kind of wistful feeling well up in your chest, memories of sharing secrets and laughter here drifting through your thoughts. Not that Sans seemed like he was going to be spilling late night secrets to anyone, much less you. You wished he could open up a bit more.

Hmph. What a hypocrite you were for that particular thought.

  
  


Sans was deeply torn. He hadn’t meant for this to become a habit, sitting on the bench whenever he wanted to think or had a nightmare, but it had. This was a good place. He could still feel the echoes of intent, what was meant when it was created. Just a sense of happiness and peace. Serenity, maybe.

He had gotten too complacent. After the… incident, he decided to make himself scarce. Just in case. Only two weeks into this new housing arrangement and he had… he saw the blood. It wasn’t bad, just a few scrapes, but it could have been so much worse. He could have… nervously he looked over at you, but you didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him, staring into the sky.

It had been confusing, a chaotic moment, his memory of it was so jumbled. All he knew was that he was so ready to kill again. Not because of the stupid brat yanking his hood off in public, or the little kid crying. The teen was just a jerk, and the kid didn’t know any better. But that WOMAN. She insulted Papyrus. Said awful things, that his sweet brother shouldn’t exist, even said terrible things about other humans. THAT could not stand. But he wasn’t Underground, and it could have been so bad if you and Cody hadn’t stepped in.

You had looked so worried in that moment. Even when he could have snapped your neck or slit your throat with one hand, you stayed still and calm, just what he needed then. An anchor to his raging thoughts. And even after, you still went to lunch with them, tried to interact with him like nothing had changed. As if he hadn’t almost killed you in a blind rage directed towards someone else.

He had to avoid you. He already almost ruined this for Papyrus. He couldn’t risk another episode near you. And yet here you were, looking about as bad as he felt, that perpetual mask of charming civility stripped away, though you had tried to put it back in place. He wasn’t as quick as he used to be, but he was still observant enough.

It was like looking in a mirror. Bags under your eyes, old tear tracks, a blank stare. How long had you been out here? He’d seen what happened to humans that got too cold. Found a few still alive back in the woods of Snowdin, their fingers blackened and ready to snap off. He had ended them quickly, since they’d suffered enough. But, your fingertips didn’t look like the white before frostbite set in, so you should be fine. Shifting, he took a look at the stars.

It really was a great view out here. No lights to block anything, no cars driving by, no people bothering him. Trying to go to the parks in town at night to stargaze had rarely ended well for him. Cops called, kids messing with him, really weird requests from strange humans…

But out here it was usually just him and the dog.

You really weren’t going to try and talk to him? Or yell at him? Question his sanity over everything?

Not talking was making him more nervous.

You were probably pitying him, secretly. You had finally seen his skull. Everyone who saw that pitied him, whispered about how damaged he was. How broken.

You were just pretending everything was fine. Probably secretly talking to Cody, seeing when you could make them leave. None of you were to be trusted. You were all trying to get him and Paps sent away. You only stepped in because it was where you worked, you wanted to look good to your peers, helping the poor pathetic monsters.

If this was how things were going to end, he may as well just drag it all into the open, make you face what you were doing to Paps. It would break his brother’s heart to leave, and it was your fault.

“hey”

He saw you flick a glance over to him, an acknowledgement.

“if ya want us gone, just tell us. don’t want to deal with this backstabbing shit.”

You were facing him now, but he couldn’t look at you. No way. He’d just lose it again.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Scoffing, he scratched at his socket, trying to resist the urge to curl his fingers in just a bit more.

“sure, like you haven’t already asked yer brother to kick us out after everythin’”

A pause and a sigh.

“Well, I haven’t. So I’m still confused.”

That… You were lying. Had to be. He knew Paps was still giving you trouble at the stores, not to mention being clingy. The outburst last week over the food. His reclusiveness, forgetfulness, and all around refusal to interact. Him hurting you. They’d been kicked out of places for less, sooner. No one wants to deal with massive and strong skeleton monsters with severe issues.

As hypocritical as it was, he hated being lied to. Giving in, his fingers curled into his dead socket, pulling, scraping, trying to stay grounded, flakes of bone and dust trailing down his face.

“ **don’t. lie.** ever since then, i know how you look at me, at us. just own up to it!”

“Is this about the library thing? Because that wasn’t your fault, really, I’m not upset about it-”

“it’s about everything! every problem we cause, every issue we have, the way we look!”

When had he stood up? He towered over you. He shouldn’t yell at you. You seemed to be folding in on yourself, hands tightening on the mug. Shit, he’d scared you, but he just couldn’t make himself stop.

“yer all the same. just putting up with us for long enough until we’re too much trouble, then you throw us out!”

No, he had to stop! This wasn’t the way to handle anything!

“you humans, always putting on sympathetic faces, pitying us until we cause too much trouble in your perfect little world. do ya know what that’s done to Paps?”

Your breathing was getting more rapid. Even if this was true, he shouldn’t do this. It just felt so good to finally get all this out, even if he was taking it out on someone who didn’t deserve it.

“This happens every time! No one wants us, no one wants to deal with us, especially me! I hurt you! You’re scared, especially since i’m unpredictable, and you want us-”

“STOP TELLING ME HOW YOU THINK I FEEL!!”

Startled out of his rant by how surprisingly loud your voice was, he took a step back as you had surged up onto your own feet, mug rolling on the ground. Even barely hitting his shoulder at your full height, far from intimidating, he could feel the fury rolling off of you and he shivered.

“I am SICK and TIRED of EVERYONE trying to tell me how I feel or how I SHOULD feel! They’re MY feelings! I get to decide that! NOT you! NOT Cody! NOT my parents! ME! SO SHUT UP WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!!”

This was unexpected. You were panting, furious, vigorously rubbing at your eyes, sniffling. Shit, shit he fucked up, he should have kept it on lock, kept it cool, it was just so HARD to and stars his head hurt so much from the yelling-

Sans tried not to flinch when you grabbed onto his jacket sleeve, giving the tiniest of tugs. He didn’t want to look you in the eye. He’d hurt you, again. Maybe worse this time. Your face was a grimace of pain, lips trembling. He had never seen you look so truly open and vulnerable. Was this the real you? The one behind the mask?

“Do you… think I don’t get it? That Cody didn’t put you here for a reason? You… you aren’t the only people who have gone through some shit that changed them. Damaged them. You don’t have the market cornered on misery, you stupid bastard.”

He took in your words slowly.

Had? You gone through something?

He didn’t know.

Of course not. He’d never bothered to ask.

You were searching his face for something, but he didn’t know what answer you were hoping to find there. You looked down, voice a whisper that he struggled to hear.

“I understand more than you think. The nightmares. The guilt. The outbursts. The old aches and pains that never really go away. The stares and whispers. People constantly trying to give you advice or help when they just… don’t get it. I, I even understand the headaches and memory problems. Here, look-”

Letting go, you shuffled your hands into thick hair, pushing it all off to one side and turning your head. There was an area of much shorter strands hidden underneath, and the dark color of your hair made the contrast of the large puckering scar spidering across your skull even more stark.

It was almost in the same area as his was. Just a bit more forward towards your face and a touch lower, a smaller wound overall. His hand was tracing the mark before he knew what he was doing. He stopped when you flinched and pulled back as you let your hair fall back into place, perfectly hiding the damage.

“I have those problems too… I fractured my skull. They had to do surgery, my brain was swelling. My skull was broken so badly they had to fish parts of bone out of me. I have a metal plate in there now, supporting the whole thing. I lost some of my hearing in my left ear, and some vision in my left eye.”

Guilt gnawed at him. He really didn’t know anything. How could he say so much when he knew so little? Cody had even said you’d been through enough, and here he was, making your life harder. What else could be expected coming from him? He always made everything worse.

You sighed, collapsing back down on the bench. Your energy, apparently fueled by your rage, had disappeared. He didn’t know what to do, until you patted the seat next to you.

“...you really want me to sit with you? After… that?”

Snorting, you crossed your arms, cold hands tucked in your sleeves.

“You gonna second guess that too? What do you want, a formal invitation? Should I write ‘Come sit down, idiot’ on a cake?”

Sighing, he sat down, silence settling over you both once again. 

He chanced another look at you, appearing vaguely irritated and extremely tired. He’d never seen this side of you before. It was… nice, in a way.

“you should look grumpy more often.”

The look on your face was nothing short of incredulous.

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“that smile ya plaster on every day gets eerie after awhile.”

You seemed to think about this, leaning forward to cup your chin in your hand with a grumble, still frowning.

Pointing at your face, he tried his best to quirk a grin at you, a friendly one.

“besides, it looks pretty tear-able when you fake a smile”

“Tear, wha- oh!” placing a hand on your face, you huffed out a laugh as you wiped the stray tear tracks from your cheeks, sitting back up. It wasn’t much, but the tension seemed to ease just a bit.

It was the same kind of laugh from that day a few weeks ago, your genuine laugh, not the polite fake one. Maybe he should tell you more jokes sometime. It was nice to make someone other than his brother smile again. Listening to you breath softly was soothing. This was a much different silence than before. A better one.

Some kind of bird swept across the sky, highlighted by the moon before whisking silently away into the trees.

With a sigh you stood, stopping to scoop up the fallen mug before a violent shiver wracked your body.

“I’m going in. If I stay out here much longer, owl be a goner.”

It took him a moment as you turned to leave, your delivery done perfectly straight faced, and he started to chuckle. He still needed to apologize to you, for… well, but maybe this was your way of saying things were still good.

“wouldn’t want that. i’ll head in too. ‘m bone tired.”

The small bark of laughter was worth it as he stood to follow you up to the house as the very first streaks of light started showing in the east. Tonight hadn’t fixed anything, per se, but maybe it, heh, RESET things between you two.

Maybe it was time he put a bit more effort into trying to stay here, rather than just staying out of the way.

  
  


Papyrus stood quietly in the shadows of the house, still as stone. His sneaking skills were superb! Beyond compare! Why, the two of you hadn’t even heard his tiniest noise of disappointment when you started telling awful puns as some strange sort of bonding exercise!

As the glass door slid shut, he made the tiniest fist pump ever, delighted at this turn of events! Setting off on his morning run, Papyrus hummed happily. You two had a genuine conversation! That may have involved a bit too much shouting for his liking, but it was honest! Your false wall of smiles and politeness had dropped, and Sans finally broke through his emotional dam.

Yes, this was good progress! If you all could be more open and honest with each other, surely things would work out in the long run! It would be difficult, building any relationship was, especially with the myriad issues all of you brought to the table…

BUT! Progress was progress! And he would take any progress he could get out of you two! An added bonus, he had learned new things about you, like your old injury! Which he was very sad about, you being injured, but it was good to know! This was going brilliantly!

The forest resounded with a particularly loud “NYEHEHE!” that no one but the animals were around to appreciate.

  
  


You stood in front of the shed, chewing on the stub of a nail. You hadn’t… really gone in here. At all. Since…

But.

You promised to get the telescope out.

It had been delayed long enough.

A few deep breaths later and you carefully spun the number code to the lock, pulling it out of the door. You had tried to seal the building up as much as possible, to keep both animals and people out. A success, so far. Though bunnies had taken up residence underneath the shed, to Thalia’s delight. They could stay.

Pushing open the door, you coughed a bit at the dust, flipping on the light. It was a “shed” of sorts, but also contained a workbench and tools, along with holiday decorations and now, boxes of things that were better left forgotten. A lot of work had gone into making this a comfortable space for any time of year, with windows, insulation, a small heater. It had been so much work to get it just right, you remembered the first time when-

Forcing yourself to forget the boxes and the building they were in, you took a few shuddering breaths and focused. The telescope was near the workbench, its case leaning up in the corner between the work space and the wall. Grabbing it up carefully, you turned to leave but froze. There on the bench. It was the last project that never-

Swallowing thickly, you practically ran out of the small building, kicking the door shut behind you with more force than was strictly necessary. Panting, you set the telescope down, redoing the lock, before taking the cursed item inside.

Focus on the good. Sans would like this. Things had been better the last few days. He actually ate meals with you and Papyrus again, tentatively started conversations and told jokes, which you tried to reciprocate. It was like feeling each other out all over again. You had actually caught Sans napping on the couch with only you home, Papyrus having taken Thalia out to the preserve. That was new. A sign of trust?

Wiping down the case quickly revealed the true color of the black case. Dust shouldn’t have gotten inside the case, but once the outside was clean you opened it up, just to check, setting it up carefully in the living room.

You weren’t the best with this sort of thing. Looking up some tutorials online, you went through a few of the suggested tests to make sure it was operating properly. That did require you searching the damn thing to figure out what make and model of telescope it WAS, but you succeeded in the end, and it was operational. The lenses just needed a quick rub with a soft cloth, and boom! Telescope!

Smiling, you packed it away for the moment, thinking. Maybe a surprise was in order.

  
  


Sans stared at the note, a sort of half smile on his face. Looking out the window, he saw the telescope all set up by the edge of the pond. He’d wandered downstairs long after dinner, prepared to go sit on the bench again when he saw the note on the table.

You had gone and set up the thing for him as a surprise. He’d thought you’d forgotten about the telescope, honestly. Walking closer to your door he listened carefully. Steady, deep breaths. You were sleeping. Guess you really intended this just for him.

Why have a telescope you don’t use?

Then again, plenty of humans had unnecessary things in their homes. Maybe it had been a gift that you couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of.

Turning towards the door, he was ready to go enjoy his first proper look at the night sky, when he froze.

There was someone out by the telescope.

Was someone coming to steal it? How could they have seen it from the road? Was someone stalking your house? They’d left one location due to threats, was it going to happen again?

Narrowing his one good socket, he tried to get a good look at the intruder, for the police report he would no doubt have to file.

Tall, but maybe just a bit shorter than Cody. Closer to Sans’ own height. Broad shouldered, wavy hair brushing the back of his neck. This was probably a male, anyway, not that he could tell much from seeing a person’s back. Couldn’t tell the hair color, it was too dark out, but he was wearing jeans and boots, some kind of over shirt hanging loosely and untucked.

The figure looked relaxed, hands in their pockets, as if they were just surveying the area without a care in the world.

Maybe this wasn’t an attack? Just someone who mistook this as part of the preserve? But the preserve was closed at night, technically. Not that it would stop a hiker or anything.

No more thinking, he needed to act. He couldn’t defend the Underground, but he could sure as hell protect a single house.

With a blur of magic, he was outside, intending to land directly behind whoever this stupid human was. This was usually enough to scare people off.

But no one was there.

Looking around carefully, he tried to spot tracks in the snow (there had been a fresh fall just the day before). Nothing.

Listening, he didn’t hear the sound of someone running away, snow crunching, anything.

Like whoever this was just vanished.

But that wasn’t possible. No mages had been reported on the surface in a long time. How could someone be here, then not, unless they had abilities like him and his brother?

Maybe… he was just seeing things. It wouldn’t be the first time. He knew he was awake, so this wasn’t a dream (nightmare) at least. After a quick perimeter search, he returned to the telescope, gently setting his hand on it. At least it hadn’t been stolen. That would upset you.

Despite the… whatever, he could still enjoy this. You had still gone out of your way to set this up for him as a surprise.

...had it moved? Thinking back into his most recent memories (better than his fuzzy older ones, fresh things were far easier to look through) he recalled the angle of the telescope to be different than it currently was. It had been pointing lower into the sky than it was now.

But this was his first time touching the telescope. Had it been the figure?

Confused, he decided to just look through and watch the stars. This weird intrigue was hurting his head.

Looking through, it took him a moment to process what he was looking at.

It was a constellation, towards the end of its visible season for this location and time of year.

Lyra. The Lyre. 

He couldn’t recall what the story behind this constellation was, other than it was an instrument used by some legendary poet who died.

Standing back up he scratched his face, thinking. IF the telescope was moved to this specific location, to that constellation, why? For what purpose? Was there even a meaning to it? Or just someone fucking with him? Or him overthinking everything and it was just a loose screw? Or the wind?

Taking out his phone, Sans carefully typed out a note to himself with every last detail about this weird event. This was something that needed him to look further into, he didn’t dare risk forgetting about it. Maybe he could ask you to get him some books on constellation stories, or use your computer for research. It may mean nothing, but it could mean something.

Nothing to be done about it now.

Instead, he focused on the telescope and the night sky, finally enjoying the surface properly, as he’d always hoped to, even with the lingering feeling of suspicion hovering over him.


End file.
